


I Know That Nightlight's On When You Sleep

by lmjposie



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, i just keep giving yall fluff huh, pls forgive me for how i ended my other au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 09:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17557766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lmjposie/pseuds/lmjposie
Summary: Prompt: penelope has this badass witch vibe and no one wants to fight her and all that because she’s scary. But she sleeps with glow in the dark stars because she’s scared of the dark. And she’s scared Josie will laugh at her but Josie just buys her more.Also based off the song Tough by Quinn XCII





	I Know That Nightlight's On When You Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Kenny ily thank you for this cute ole idea. I hope I did it justice for you. 
> 
> lemme know what you think! i'm @lmjposie on twitter.

**_Maybe it’s ‘cause your mom never kissed you._ **

 

Penelope was an orphan by the age of seven. She’d always been a mommy’s girl and she’d spend every moment she could with her. But her mom and dad were suddenly killed due to an “animal attack” as the sheriff told her. She got tossed into the foster care system and began bouncing from home to home for the next three years. Eventually, at the age of ten, a very wealthy couple adopted her. The family provided her with a lot of things, a very nice roof over her head, they had her go to a nice preppy school where she got the best education she could, a galore of clothes, and she got all the toys she could ever want. The only thing they never provided her with was love. The couple definitely loved her, but they never really showed it. Her adoptive dad was the one who was most critical of everything she did. She’d come home wanting to tell him about how well she did on a test, but he’d always find a way to point out an error. Penelope never understood his tough love. Her adoptive mom, however, wasn’t as strict. She’d show some sympathy. But they really only bonded by going shopping. Her mom would help her pick out the most elegant clothes for her to wear at school. She always made sure Penelope had the most recent, in demand purse. She taught her at a young age that how she looks and how she dressed is one of the most important things for a woman.

 

**_If you ever cried, you’d wipe with muscle tissue_ **

 

Her adoptive mom caught Penelope crying one day after her adoptive dad and just scolded her for having an B+ on her report card. Penelope’s new mom told her to never let anyone see you cry. Crying was a sign of weakness, and at all times, you must how that you’re strong.

 

From that day forth, Penelope didn’t cry in front of people. In fact, she rarely showed many emotions around others. She was guarded and cold just like her adoptive parents. But on most nights, she’d cry herself to sleep.

 

Years later, when she was thirteen, her adoptive dad would make comments about her weight. At thirteen years old, Penelope found herself insecure and conscientious about what she ate and what she looked like. She began using the gym in her house. On extreme occasions, she’d use it three times a day.

 

**_You bench pressing more than me’s not the issue. I know you’re actually weaker than that. Let’s hope that nothing gets deeper than that_ **

 

When Penelope was fifteen, she came home wanting to show off how she’d managed to get all A+’s and was even going to get an award at school to recognize her academic achievements. Her adoptive dad said something about how it really means nothing because forty other students would get that same award. Penelope snapped. All her built up anger just came flooding out. She began shouting things and waving her arms around. In her blind rage, she’d somehow used magic for the first time in her life. She’d used her magic to accidentally cause her dad to go flying into the bar behind him. Glass shattered all around him and he suffered multiple cuts. Her mom came running to comfort him and she looked at Penelope with a horrified look. Her parents looked at her in a lot of ways but horrified was never one of them. She was scared because she didn’t know what she’d done. She never meant to hurt her dad. She sat on the ground and curled into a ball after that. _I’m a monster_ she thought.

 

An anonymous caller informed her parents that there was somewhere they could send their child. A boarding school. The Salvatore School for the young and gifted. They agreed to send her there with no second thought. They could barely look at their adoptive daughter. A man named Alaric Saltzman showed up at their door a couple days later. Her adoptive parents told her that everything would be okay if she just went with him. Penelope was so hurt and broken, she agreed to go.

 

When she arrived, Hope Mikaelson, a girl maybe two years older than her, informed her about the school. The Salvatore School was a place for supernatural creatures to learn about what they are and how to use their powers properly. Penelope was confused, there was no way that she was supernatural. She thought that was only a thing in movies. Hope had told her that the reason they found her was because there was an abundance of magical energy in her location. She then asked her a series of questions regarding how she felt and even asked about her birth mother. At the end of her interrogation, Penelope wasn’t so iffy on the idea about being a witch.

 

Hope had revealed to her that she too was a witch. She showed her a couple of basic spells like making a dead flower come back to life or levitating a small object. Penelope always knew something was off with her because she always felt this surging of power in her veins, but she thought that everyone else did.

 

Penelope got settled into her room pretty quickly. She familiarized herself with the school and she didn’t think it’d be too terrible there. She tried calling her adoptive parents to tell them about how everything was going, but they never picked up. She tried day after day but she was always hit with the sound of their voicemail. A week after she’d been sent to the school, they finally picked up. It was a short conversation really, a minute at most. Penelope called, excited to tell them about how she figured out she was a witch from an unknown coven, how Hope had become her first friend and how she was getting along with other people from other covens. But her excitement vanished when the polite greeting turned to “don’t call us anymore.” They said that they’d continue to pay to put her in school until she was eighteen. They said that when she hit eighteen, the funds they’d set aside for her to start a new life without them would be released to her. Penelope was a mix of emotions. She’d gone through enough emotional torment in her fifteen years of life. She’d lost her birth parents and now she’d just lost her adoptive parents. She was starting to think that family didn’t mean anything anymore. She decided then and there that she hated her adoptive parents and she wanted nothing to do with them.

 

As a result, she went to blow off steam in the only way she knew how. The gym. There she met Jed Park. A werewolf. He told her how he was the alpha of his pack. When he revealed his last name, Penelope thought it was a coincidence how he had the same last name as her birth parents. When she was adopted, she obviously took on her adoptive parent’s last name, but now that they didn’t want association with her and she didn’t want anything to do with them, she thought she’d revert back to her birth parent’s last name, Park. She thought that “Park” was a relatively common last name until he revealed that he was from the same town she was born in. He revealed that he was a year older than her though, and she faintly remembered how her birth dad would always talk about how his brother had a son. He talked about how his dad’s brother and his wife, or Penelope’s real parents, were suspiciously killed in an “animal attack.” Because of the “animal attack” his dad had him pack everything up and they moved far away from that place. Later on, when Jed’s werewolf abilities started showing, his dad disclosed that the “animal attack” was actually a vampire hunting after his dad.

 

She asked Jed for more details about his dad and his brother, Jed went on to say how he was Indonesian, like her. Penelope pulled up the only picture she had of her birth father, which just so happened to have her uncle in it. Jed confirmed that her uncle was in fact his dad. This meant that she and Jed were cousins. Since then, she got along with the only bit of family that she had left.

 

She’d show off how much she could bench press, and although he could bench more since he was an alpha and all, he was still impressed. He easily became her best friend and they’d do practically everything together. Over time, her barriers started to lower around him and he became the only person she’d told about her past, about how her adoptive parents treated her. He told her that he was sorry that she had to be raised like that, he said that if he had known about her existence sooner, he would’ve loved to have her around and invited her to stay with them.

 

**_Like why are you only vulnerable when no-one’s around?_ **

 

The night that she told him everything about her past, she broke down in front of him. It was the first time in a long time where someone saw her cry. She hated feeling weak in front of him, but he was there to comfort her and tell her that crying doesn’t make you weak. And that sometimes having someone else around makes it less daunting and actually provides comfort.

 

The next person she became vulnerable around was a girl named Josie Saltzman. She was  one of the headmaster, Alaric Saltzman’s daughters. Penelope had always strayed away from the dating scene even though her friends from back home would always run around and brag about their new boyfriends. Penelope was one, too preoccupied on achieving the best grades to even think about dating, and two, never really into guys. She kept that thought to herself for the longest time, but watching shows and movies where she’d see another girl kiss another girl brought her comfort in knowing she wasn’t alone. That what she was feeling was totally normal.

 

Penelope decided that because she doesn’t have to seek her adoptive father’s approval, and she was relatively comfortable with her sexuality, she could finally get around to dating. She told Jed about her little crush on the headmaster’s daughter, and he never judged her. In fact, he encouraged her to go and get the girl. Jed mentioned to her that Josie was openly pansexual. She decided that she had to shoot her shot.

 

Penelope had proven to everyone that she was no one to be messed with, she’d quickly become one of the most popular girls at the school. Penelope had noticed Josie since the first day she arrived at the school. Penelope was sure that Josie knew of her existence but Josie never tried to talk to her. Penelope wanted to talk to her, it only took the seemingly badass witch two months to work up the courage to approach Josie.

 

“Hey.” Penelope approached Josie one day at a party. Josie had been talking to Lizzie Saltzman, her twin sister, but when Penelope came up to them, Lizzie took the hint and left. 

 

“Hi.” Josie greeted, internally screaming that her crush had actually come up to talk to her.

 

“Not a fan of the party?” Penelope inquired, noticing how Josie was actually a good distance away from most of the people at the party in the woods.

 

Josie shrugged. “Parties aren’t really my thing. But Lizzie dragged me along. I just wanted to watch the stars.”

 

“I don’t care much for the party either and astrology is actually one of my favorite subjects.” Penelope informed the girl.

 

“Me too. Space is so interesting because there’s so much we don’t know, so much we have yet to explore.” Josie rambled.

 

“Right! I’ve always been so fascinated by the stars above. When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut.”

 

“Me too! I mean I still sort of do.”

 

“Same here. Maybe we’ll get into the same space program at NASA and be the next people to fly to the moon.”

 

“The moon’s already been done before. I want to explore another planet. Just think about the possibility of discovering another life form.”

 

“That’s true. There just has to be other life out there. We can’t be the only ones.”

 

“That’s what I’m saying!”

 

The two settled in silence for a brief moment. “Can I show you something?” Penelope asked.

 

Josie had heard about Penelope’s badass reputation, but the small interaction she had had with her just now proved that she really wasn’t as badass as she appeared. Josie’s had an eye on her ever since she came to the school. But nobody knew that, not even Lizzie. She’d had a slight infatuation with the girl so she nodded and Penelope led her away from the party and back to her room. Before Josie could protest, Penelope spoke up, soothing her worries.

 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t bring you here to hook up with you.” She slightly laughed when she unlocked the door.

 

Penelope doesn’t know why exactly she brought her to her room. She didn’t let Jed nor Hope come here. To her, it was her sanctuary, her one safe place. A place no one but her could go to. But also because there was one thing nobody knew about her. She was afraid of the dark. She had been ever since she was little. Her birth mom bought her glow in the dark stars and stuck them on the ceiling so that she’d at least have some light as she slept. Her adoptive parents didn’t like how she would mess up the paint with the stick on lights, so they bought her multiple nightlights instead. It was silly really, but now that Penelope was on her own, she seeked comfort in putting them on her ceiling as a reminder of her real parents and so she wouldn’t be faced with the pitch black. She also had a nightlight plugged into one of the outlets closest to her bed.

 

“I don’t even know you that well, and I’m hoping that you don’t laugh at me, but I just wanted to show you this.” Penelope nervously said before she flipped off the lights and the glow in the dark stars illuminated the room.

 

Josie was in awe. “This is so cool!”

 

“Really? You’re not just saying that are you?” Penelope anxiously asked.

 

“No,” Josie’s voice softened. “This is really unique and actually super cute.”

 

“It would actually be kinda cooler if some of the stars didn’t fall off. I’ve had these since I was a kid and I’ve been needing to get new ones.” Penelope rocked back and forth on her toes.

 

“I didn’t even notice, I could stare at this all night.” Josie truthfully told her.

 

Penelope let out a sigh of relief. “Then can I show you something else?”

 

Josie nodded. Penelope led her to sit at the foot of her bed. Penelope recited a small spell and waved her hand towards the ceiling. Moments later, the glow in the dark star-covered ceiling transformed into the actual night sky above.

 

“Now this is even better.” Josie looked up in wonderment.

 

Penelope’s cheeks grew red because she was never let anyone see this part of her. “Please don’t tell anyone about this. I’ve never shown anyone this, but I just thought you were special enough to share this with.”

 

Josie was pretty sure her heart melted into a puddle right then and there. One of the first moments she’s ever had with her crush was her showing her the stars in her room. Josie really did feel special.

 

**_You’re not so tough. I know that nightlight’s on when you sleep._ **

 

The two laid on Penelope’s bed a short distance apart, careful not to overstep any boundaries. They talked the  night away about anything and everything that came into their minds as they watched the stars above. Josie showed Penelope her favorite constellation while Penelope showed her her favorite and even went on to show her new ones Josie had never seen before.

 

The two hit it off. They began hanging out after that. They were borderline flirting with each other, except nobody would make the bold move to kiss one another. One of the next times they met up, Josie had bought her more stars for her to put up on her ceiling. Penelope wanted to offer the girl her heart on a silver platter. Instead, she invited her over to help her hang them up.

 

Penelope was focused on placing one on the ceiling where there was an obvious gap. “What do you think about putting one here?” Josie questioned. Penelope turned to the girl only to see she’d held one up over her face.

 

Penelope smiled and got down off the stool that helped her reach the top. She walked up to the girl. “Hmm. I don’t think so. It’s covering up your pretty face.” Penelope went to take it away from her, except Josie had moved it out of her reach and, because she’s a fair amount taller than Penelope, she held it above her head.

 

“How about here?” Josie teased the shorter girl. She continued to hold  the star out of Penelope’s reach.

 

Penelope pouted, swatting her hands in attempt to get the girl to falter. “That’s not fair and you know it.”

 

“I have no idea what you mean.” Josie innocently added.

 

Penelope shot her a look. “How’s the weather up there, tall person.”

 

“I was going to make a joke about how short you are, but I don’t want to stoop to your level.” Josie returned.

 

Penelope playfully rolled her eyes. “Can I have the star please?”

 

“Nope.” Josie said, popping the ‘p’ for extra effect.

 

“I said please.” Penelope pouted, doing her best to give her a puppy dog look.

 

Josie turned her face away. “Not gonna work.”

 

“Ugh, you’re so annoying.”

 

“Says you.”

 

“SaYs YoU.” Penelope mocked.

 

“I wouldn’t mock the person holding your last remaining star.” Josie smartly replied.

 

“I wouldn’t test the person who could cast a spell that could have you hanging upside down right now.” Penelope retaliated, stepping closer to the girl.

 

“You wouldn’t.”

 

“Wouldn’t I?”

 

“Nope, you’d do it if it were anyone else, but not me.”

 

“What makes you think that?”

 

“Because you think I’m special.” Josie smiled remembering how the other girl told her that when she had shown her her room for the first time.

 

“I don’t recall where you got this information.” Penelope returned, obviously she remembered, but for her argument she wouldn’t say.

 

“I think you said something along the lines of ‘I’ve never shown anyone this, but I just thought you were special enough to share this with.’” Josie quoted.

 

“That wasn’t me.” Penelope coyly responded dangerously close to the other girl’s face.

 

“Right, maybe it was someone else.” Josie played along. “Some other dork who has their room covered in glow in the dark lights because they’re afraid of the dark.”

 

“You’re so smug you know that?” Penelope looked at the other girl’s eyes. “Makes me want to kiss your shit-eating grin off your face.

 

“Oh? So why don’t you.” Josie said without missing a beat

 

“Maybe I will.” Penelope leaned in towards the girl’s lips. Josie’s eyes fluttered closed.

 

Just before their lips could touch, Penelope tugged Josie’s arm down and grabbed the star from her hand. “Hah!” She cheered, moving away from the girl.

 

“You’re such an ass!” Josie laughed.

 

Penelope ignored the girl and looked up at her ceiling wondering where she should place it. Her ceiling was littered with the stars, she didn’t think there was any room left for this one little star.

 

“Actually,” Josie softly spoke. “I was wondering if I could um keep the star and put it up in my room? Just as like a reminder of you or something.” Josie teetered back and forth, the nervousness evident in her voice.

 

Penelope’s heart warmed from the nervous girl in front of her. “Okay. I like that idea.” She handed the star back to the taller girl.

 

“Thank you.” Josie timidly responded. Penelope’s heart swelled, the girl looked so cute being all nervous to ask her for the star.

 

Penelope was in front of Josie and she looked into the girl’s eyes once more. There was something about this girl that had her so captivated. Without a second thought, she leaned in and their lips connected for the first time. She could practically feel fireworks going off. Penelope may be a witch, but she never felt anything like the power she got from kissing Josie. Josie was also a witch, and she never felt as magical as she did when kissing Penelope. Their lips moved in sync with each other before they both pulled away.

 

Penelope scratched the back of her head. “That was my first kiss, by the way.”

 

“Mine too.” Josie admitted.

 

“I’m glad it was with you.” Penelope honestly vocalized.

 

Josie smiled. “Me too.”

 

Josie slept over that night. When it was pitch black (besides the glowing stars above) she pointed out the nightlight shining by Penelope’s bed.

 

Penelope told her about how her adoptive mom had given her that nightlight. It was one of the only sentimental moments she had with the woman. She told her how her adoptive mom said that the darkness is a scary place. But there’d always be someone or something to help guide her through the darkness.

 

**_You’re not so tough. Yeah, you watch Eat Pray Love on repeat_ **

 

Josie was over one night. They’d been trying to decide on what movie to watch when Penelope suggested watching Eat Pray Love.

 

“You want to watch a rom-com?” Josie questioned. “I didn’t know THE badass Penelope Park suggested watching a rom-com.

 

“It’s my favorite movie.” Penelope mumbled.

 

“Why is that?” Josie truly wanted to know. She wanted to know everything about the girl. Her favorite movie and why was no exception.

 

“I don’t know, I guess it’s just like about recognizing that you’re in a bad place and wanting to go and find yourself. I like it because it’s lighthearted and a feel-good story.” Penelope explained. “And watching rom-coms is kind of my guilty pleasure.”

 

“Aw! Who knew that Penelope Park had such a soft spot for romantic comedies.” Josie teased.

 

Penelope’s cheeks went red. “Shut up. You didn’t make fun of me for the stars on my ceiling, but you’re poking me about liking this specific genre?”

 

“I’m not making fun of you.” Josie soothed. “I just think it’s cute that your tough exterior is cracking before my eyes.” She kissed Penelope on the cheek.

 

Penelope’s cheeks were as red as a tomato now. The girl in front of her had really done a number on her. “I never really had a tough exterior when it came to you. After all, within like twenty minutes of talking to you, I brought you to my room and showed you the stars.”

 

**_And I’m sure you’d win in an altercation, but you’re still insecure to me._ **

 

“That’s true. Why do you put up such a front that you’re a badass when in reality you’re a total softie.” Josie questioned.

 

Penelope shrugged. “It’s just easier that way. My adoptive parents never showed any emotions so I learnt from them and I had to put up all these walls. Nobody in my previous school really knew me. They just knew the persona that I’d portray.”

 

“I had no idea, do you want to talk about it?”

 

Penelope sighed and told the girl about her backstory. She’d pause a couple of times to regain her composure and Josie was there to comfort her. She never pushed her and would always reassure her that she didn’t have to tell her everything if she wasn’t ready. Penelope appreciated how she let her take her time. She appreciated how sympathetic and caring she was being. It only made her fall for the girl even more.

 

“I’m so sorry that they treated you that way, especially in your most influential years.” Josie voiced.

 

“I guess it’s like that sometimes.” Penelope brushed off.

 

Josie shook her head. “No, it shouldn’t be like that. You deserve all the love and respect that they couldn’t give you.”

 

“How can someone love someone as broken and insecure as me?” Penelope cried, turning her face away from the other girl.

 

“It’s not hard.” Josie softly spoke. She brushed a hair away from the other girl’s face and cupper her face with her hands making the girl look at her. “From what I’ve seen so far, you’re not broken. You’ve had your fair share of emotional distress and I think you just need someone to show you everything they didn’t teach you. Love being the number one thing. And I could easily see myself loving you.”

 

Penelope perked up. “Really?”

 

Josie nodded. “Without a doubt.”

 

“I can see myself falling in love with you too.” Penelope smiled through her tears. “I never knew that I needed someone like you in my life. In the short amount of time I’ve known you, you’ve already shown me tenfold everything I never thought possible.”

 

**_Oh, so you mess me up. I know you’re not so tough._ **

 

Josie leaned forward and connected their lips again, she tasted the saltiness from the other witch’s tears. She didn’t mind though. She’d never want the girl to ever be sad ever again. As a siphoner, she wished she could siphon away all the sadness from the other girl. Instead, she decided to use her other power. Her ability to be an extreme empath. She wanted to absorb all of the emotions from the other girl. She could feel the emotions and physical pain that the other girl was in. A tear shed from her eyes. Penelope pulled away from the kiss.

 

“I’m sorry you had to see me like this.” Penelope apologized.

 

“You don’t need to apologize. I’ll always be here for you.” Josie responded.

 

Josie just held the other girl in a tight embrace as the other girl let out the rest of her tears.

 

The next night, Penelope brought Josie out to the field behind the school. There, she set out a blanket in the grass and the two laid down on the blanket looking up at the sky similar to the night where they first interacted.

 

Josie had her head tucked in the crook. “Hey Jo?” Penelope asked.

 

“Hmm?” Josie hummed in response. She was busy listening to the other girl’s calm and soothing breathing.

 

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Penelope proposed.

 

Josie lifted her head up and looked at the girl. “I’d love to.”

 

Penelope brought their lips together and they kissed underneath the stars in the cold of the night. Since then, Penelope wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore. Because Josie was her light. With her by her side, she’d be able to get through the darkest of tunnels.

 


End file.
